N.Y.C.'s Philanthropic Future

ENLARGE

The atmosphere at the Associates Committee of the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's annual party.
Joe Schildhorn /BFA

By

Marshall Heyman

Nov. 15, 2012 8:45 p.m. ET

It's rare to go to an event these days filled primarily with young, philanthropic New Yorkers. Everything's so gussied up with celebrities and flashbulbs that it's easy to forget about the folks who are the future of this city and will take charge of its philanthropic endeavors, especially when Sarah Jessica Parker's in the room.

A big cross section of those individuals (many of them blonde, several of them pregnant) came to the Four Seasons restaurant the other night for the annual fall party thrown by the Associates Committee of the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

This evening usually happens with the assistance of a fashion company. This year's sponsor was Max Mara, and in turn, the fashion house hosted a few tables. But it only brought one rather inconspicuous bold-face name on the Hollywood circuit: the actress Bridget Moynahan, who stars on the CBS series "Blue Bloods" and lives with her 5-year-old son (from a relationship with the football player Tom Brady) in TriBeCa.

"We spend a lot of time at the Intrepid," said Ms. Moynahan. "He's obsessed with battleships. We're regulars. They know us there now."

Ms. Moynahan did not behave as a typical celebrity at the party, either. When guests were asked to raise their hands to make donations to the cause, money of which goes to the hospital's pediatric family housing endowment, she volunteered $1,000. Trust us: Celebrities who are guests of fashion houses at these kind of parties do not tend to do that sort of thing.

Representing Max Mara was the evening's honorary chairman, Maria Giulia Maramotti. She is the company's North American retail director, as well as the granddaughter of the founder. She was particularly empathetic to our cause when she heard we were skipping a screening of "Breaking Dawn Part 2" in order to attend her event.

"Thank you for coming," Ms. Maramotti said, sincerely. "I know the 'Twilight' saga is a big deal. I wouldn't want to miss it either." We looked at her askew. "No really," she said. "I mean it."

Ms. Maramotti, it turned out, was an exceptionally good host. "I hope you like the food," she explained. "Because I chose everything. I went to the tasting and nobody wanted to try anything, and I said I would. I'm Italian; it's what we do." What she came up with: farro primavera and filet of lamb with chanterelle mushrooms and roasted new potatoes. Clean, hearty and well-selected.

"I love how there's a Jacuzzi for after dinner," joked Ms. Medda, referring to the large body of water that sits inside the restaurant's main dining room.

Ms. Gruss, a fashion designer in her own right, will soon be ending her three-year cycle as the chairman of the Associates Committee. That consists of 60 of the city's more stylish women, most of whom should have been at the party. She explained part of the evening's success was related to the fact that "this is one of the events the husbands don't mind going to." Why is that? "There can be a lot of drinking."

Actually, Ms. Gruss added, "It's all friends and we're supporting each other. It's a beautiful and easy night." The committee is also often rotating its ladies and bringing in younger blood.

"It's a little bit of those familiar high school faces and new energetic women and men," she said. "We know what we're doing."

In support of the charity, Ms. Gruss raised her hand and was the first to donate $25,000 when the auctioneer, Jamie Niven, of
Sotheby's
,
took control of the pledge drive. (Mr. Niven's daughter, Eugenie, was a guest at the party.)

One of Mr. Niven's hooks on Monday was to tell the crowd: "Don't worry about Obama. He can't take your money if you give it away."

"That's a brilliant ploy, isn't it?" Mr. Niven asked, and several guests, no doubt integral players in the future of our city, obliged.

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